Archive

Helsinki (09.12.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) Collective bargaining has come to a halt or been blocked almost everywhere. The reason for this is the ironclad mutual coordination now in place by private sector employers.

Paradoxically, employers have for a very long time been speaking out in favour of a decentralised collective bargaining system. Every branch should negotiate on the basis of the realities of that very branch, they say.

It is now clear that the employers are taking a very determined stance, probably more so than ever before, on collective bargaining, everywhere. As there has been, so far, no deal in the export industries, such as the metal or chemical industry, the leadership of the employers' associations seem to be unwilling to accept any deals at all.

Helsinki (28.11.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) Antti Palola, President of STTK, was elected to the Executive Bureau of the International Trade Union Confederation ITUC. He is the only member from the Nordic Countries on it.

The elections took place at the 5th ITUC World Congress in Melbourne, Australia. Palola was elected as one of the 34 Vice Presidents and also as one of the 25 members of the Executive Bureau.

The ITUC’s primary mission is to promote and defend workers' rights and interests, through international cooperation between trade unions, and by way of global campaigning and advocacy within major global institutions.

Helsinki (16.11.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) Akava congress elected Maria Löfgren as the new President of the trade union confederation. She beat Jari Jokinen comfortably, by getting 514 votes to his 383.

Before the congress, support for both candidates seemed to be quite even, with perhaps a slight lead showing in Löfgren’s favour. However, on the day of the congress, the result soon became clear, as more unions said they would support Löfgren. Among these were unions like the Finnish Medical Association (47 votes) and The Union of Professionals in Natural, Environmental and Forestry Sciences Loimu (22 votes).

In general, but not exclusively, Löfgren enjoyed more support from those unions working mainly in the public sector or having a major share of female members. Jokinen’s stronghold tended to centre around unions with members working mainly in the private sector, technology and business - and being often male-dominated unions.

Helsinki (04.11.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) Akava, one of the three Finnish trade union confederations, will elect a new President on 14 November. Both candidates have an equally good chance of claiming the prize.

The long time Akava President Sture Fjäder will step down prematurely and the Akava congress will elect his successor. There are just two candidates, lawyer Maria Löfgren and Master of Science in Technology Jari Jokinen.

Both work as executive directors in the Akava organisation, Löfgren in the Negotiation Organisation for Public Sector Professionals - JUKO and Jokinen in the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland - TEK. Löfgren is politically independent, Jokinen is a member of the right-wing National Coalition Party - like the incumbent Akava President Sture Fjäder.

Helsinki (19.10.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) In a television commercial, a group of kids argue in the playground about whose mother has the most important job. They list a chef, teacher, police officer and a lieutenant in the military.

Then, another small kid pipes up from the sandbox and says that "my mother makes all the jobs of your mothers". The ad concludes with a voice and a text: "salaries in the public sector are paid for by the tax of good companies".

Behind the ad is the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK. It is the major central organisation for private sector employers.

Helsinki (17.10.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) In January 2022, the collective agreements for the technology and chemical industry were agreed for two years, leaving only the pay rise for 2023 open for discussion. Negotiations towards this end have not led to a result and the Industrial Union have now terminated the agreements.

The Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff YTN has also decided to call a halt to its technology industry collective agreements. The technology industry agreements are still valid until the end of November, the one for the chemical industry was valid until the end of September.

Riku Aalto, President of the Industrial Union, says that the views of the parties are now exceptionally far away from each other.

Helsinki (05.10.2022 – Heikki Jokinen) on 3 October, the nurses’ unions Tehy and Super and the employers' organisations have accepted the National Conciliator’s proposal for a new collective agreement for nurses in the municipal sector social and health care. According to the unions, it will guarantee at least a 17.3 per cent pay rise over the next five years, with an increase of 15.3 percent in the first three years.

The deal includes a 600 euro one-time bonus to nurses, who cared for covid-19 patients. Tehy and Super estimate that the average salary of a nurse will see an increase in pay from 2 625 now to 3 117 euro in 2027. For practical nurses pay will go up from 2 255 to 2 677 euro.

Tehy - The Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland says that the new collective agreement includes several improvements in working conditions, too.

Helsinki (27.09.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) Since 2005, the Summer Job Helpline has been helping young people doing their summer job. The service is run by the three Finnish trade union confederations Akava, SAK and STTK.

Pay, working hours and employment contracts and how to terminate them, were the most frequently asked questions, says Hanna-Marilla Zidan on the SAK website. She ran the service from 2 May to 31 August.

Of those who contacted the Helpline, 72 per cent were summer workers. One out of five were parents and five per cent employers.

Helsinki (19.09.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) The deadlock in nurses' collective bargaining led to a new law restricting the right to strike and has caused serious friction in the Government.

Tehy and Super, the nurses' unions, announced five limited strikes in intensive care units and home care, to begin in September. This did not speed up the collective bargaining process, instead the employers asked the courts to outlaw strikes.

The Helsinki District Court promptly accepted requests from three hospital districts to delay the nurses' strikes at hospital intensive care units, but not in regard to home care. The reason for this ruling was the great risk to patients, and possibility of fatalities.

Helsinki (09.09.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) In June, the two nurses' unions Tehy and Super pulled out of the major municipal sector collective agreement. Presently, collective bargaining for the nurses’ is ongoing, but the debate around the deal is getting heated.

Tehy - The Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland and Super - the Finnish Union of Practical Nurses are clear in their demands: nurses must get a real pay rise in order to solve the growing shortage of nurses. For the unions, this is a matter of patient security.

Aki Lindén, the social democratic Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services has taken a stance on the issue. He had already started preparing the Patient Safety Act, which would force nurses, in some cases, to work and thus limiting their right to strike.